After California shooting, will Americans let fear prevail?
- 8 years ago
Barack Obama says the US is entering a "new phase" of the terrorist threat. But Americans are unlikely to heed his call to be "strong and smart" in fighting the Islamic State group, writes FRANCE 24’s International Affairs Editor, Douglas Herbert.
Whenever Americans have succumbed to fear throughout their freedom-fighting history, bad things have generally happened. At times, very bad things.
Two names personify just how bad: Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.
They were the Italian-born American anarchists wrongly tried for murder in the US in 1921, at the height of the Communist-lurking-in-every-corner ‘Red Scare’. Despite a worldwide campaign in support of their innocence, Sacco and Vanzetti were convicted and executed by electric chair in August 1927 – triggering riots in Paris, London and elsewhere. It has gone down as one of the most notorious miscarriages of justice in US history. A miscarriage driven by paranoia and raw fear.
In the wake of last week’s shootings in San Bernardino, the case of Sacco and Vanzetti is a cautionary tale as to why Americans would be wise to heed Obama’s plea to respond to the threat not by demonizing Muslims, but by waging a “strong and smart” fight against the Islamic State group.
“Our success won’t depend on tough talk, or abandoning our values or giving in to fear,” Obama said in a rare Oval Office address to his compatriots on Sunday night. “That’s what groups like ISIL are hoping for.” He added, “We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam."
A growing backlash
Yet there are already signs that some Amer... Go on reading on our web site.
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Whenever Americans have succumbed to fear throughout their freedom-fighting history, bad things have generally happened. At times, very bad things.
Two names personify just how bad: Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.
They were the Italian-born American anarchists wrongly tried for murder in the US in 1921, at the height of the Communist-lurking-in-every-corner ‘Red Scare’. Despite a worldwide campaign in support of their innocence, Sacco and Vanzetti were convicted and executed by electric chair in August 1927 – triggering riots in Paris, London and elsewhere. It has gone down as one of the most notorious miscarriages of justice in US history. A miscarriage driven by paranoia and raw fear.
In the wake of last week’s shootings in San Bernardino, the case of Sacco and Vanzetti is a cautionary tale as to why Americans would be wise to heed Obama’s plea to respond to the threat not by demonizing Muslims, but by waging a “strong and smart” fight against the Islamic State group.
“Our success won’t depend on tough talk, or abandoning our values or giving in to fear,” Obama said in a rare Oval Office address to his compatriots on Sunday night. “That’s what groups like ISIL are hoping for.” He added, “We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam."
A growing backlash
Yet there are already signs that some Amer... Go on reading on our web site.
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en